Questions and Answers
Insurance companies are under tremendous pressure to keep payouts down. It is a matter of survival for many of them after the recent hurricanes. You need to be able to provide proof of what you owned to your insurer in order to maximize your claim. For example: If you say that you had a TV in every room of your home and can’t prove it why should the insurance adjuster take your word for it? Now you are in a negotiation with them. You say you had 6 TVs and they offer to pay for 3. But if you have third party documentation of the 6 TVs with digital video and pictures as well as the serial numbers, you see the difference that can make.
In addition FEMA also requires a written inventory when you submit a claim.
A thorough home inventory provides complete and accurate documentation of your home and its valuable contents. It is conducted in overlapping phases ensuring that nothing is missed. Utilizing Digital Video and still photography everything is visually documented both inside and outside the home, foundation to roof and floor to ceiling. In our office these images are transferred to durable DVD and CD media. Also careful notes are taken of the property to include serial and model numbers. Any other information that you provide as to the value of the property is also included in the final written report. Upon completion, the entire report along with a great deal of other useful information is compiled and presented to you in a durable and attractive zippered binder.
Your home inventory should be updated annually or whenever there is a significant change such as a move or major addition.
Of course you can do your own inventory............ but:
YES! In addition to hurricanes we live in the lightning capital of the world. The frequent severe thunderstorms and tornados in central Florida can devastate any home in just minutes. There are also the threats of fire and theft. People returning to there homes after evacuating for hurricane Rita in Texas came back to find that they had been robbed. Should you be robbed we can get your archived copy of the inventory and send the police and your insurer copies of the pictures and serial numbers of missing items.
Contact Proof Positive's office to arrange to have a copy of your archived documentation delivered to you. If you would like others to be able to receive copies of your inventory (lawyer, insurance agent, police, etc...) we must have that on file in writing with an original signature.
Go to the Important Links and Important Phone Numbers pages of this website. This information is also included in with your home inventory documentation.
Your insurance company will tell you that you need to have an inventory but it is not in their interest to provide the service or to take any action to ensure that you have it in place prior to submitting a claim. Remember, they want to keep your claim payout as low as possible.
We realize that it may seem like a conflict of our own interests to have put the answer to question number on our website. We know that most people are perfectly capable of doing their own documentation. We also know that most people can paint their own home, pressure wash their own driveway and pool enclosure, wash their own windows, and install their own security system, fix their own plumbing, etc... However, you cannot do it to quite the same standard as a professional. And lets face it, it does take time, organization, a bit of technology and........ you haven't done it up to now.
Also, a third party inventory will mean much more to your insurer and we can be subpoenaed on your behalf should you have to go to court to pursue an insurance claim.
Your insurance company will tell you that you need to have an inventory but it is not in their interest to provide the service or to take any action to ensure that you have it in place prior to submitting a claim. Remember, they want to keep your claim payout as low as possible.